Wednesday, 16 July 2014

5 places I want to visit before I’m 40

Hello, my name is Beth and I blog over at Little Miss Disney. I
live in Cardiff and have an unhealthy love for food, holidays and all things
Disney (as you might have guessed from my blog name). I love reading Cheryl’s
blog and looking at her beautiful photos, so I was very excited when she asked
me to write a guest blog post for her while she was away on holiday.

As the post was scheduled while Cheryl was
having a great time away from home, I decided to stick with the holiday theme
and blog about 5 places I want to visit before I’m 40. I’m always looking for
holiday ideas on Pinterest so I thought I’d include a few of the lovely images
I’ve found.

I was originally going to call this post ‘5
places I want to visit before I’m 30’, then I realised I definitely haven’t got
enough money to realistically visit all these places in the next two years!

Wimbledon

I’ve wanted to go to Wimbledon since I was
about 4 years old and this is still a burning ambition of mine. I love the idea
of sitting on Henman Hill watching the big screen (it’ll never be Murray Mount
to me!), clapping politely, drinking Pimms and scoffing strawberries and cream
all day. Wimbledon is so wonderfully ‘British’, isn’t it? General admission is
£20 which is a total bargain in my opinion. I wouldn’t be too bothered about
not being able to watch the matches on the big courts and would make the most
of the opportunity to watch games on the outside courts instead. All my dreams
would come true if I managed to catch a glimpse of Tim Henman in the flesh
while I was there! A bit of sunshine would be nice too, but that’s definitely
not guaranteed...

I love Walt Disney World in Florida but I’d
also really like to try Disneyland Paris in the next few years. It’s closer to
home so we could go for a long weekend rather than for a fortnight, and we
could also explore the beautiful city of Paris while we were there. It would
give us a cheaper Disney fix while we’re saving up to go back to Florida, and
I’m keen to try the attractions which are unique to Disneyland Paris. Tom from
McFly visited Disneyland Paris recently and posted lots of photos on Instagram,
so this has made me even more determined to visit very soon.

As a huge Harry Potter fan, I’ve wanted to
go here ever since it opened in 2012. We could combine it with a long weekend
to London so it would be a nice idea for a short break away. I’ve read lots of
blog posts about the amazing grandeur of this place and I’d love to experience
the goosebump-inducing experience of walking into the Great Hall, wandering
into Dumbledore’s office and taking a stroll down Privet Drive. The Wizarding
World of Harry Potter in Orlando is pretty special, but I think this would be a
totally different experience and would feel even more authentic. This trip away
is pretty attainable in terms of distance and cost so I’m hoping we’ll tick
this one off the list sooner rather than later. Butterbeer, anyone?

Although this is a much more expensive
option, I’d love to go to Canada in the next ten years. I’m especially keen to
visit Vancouver and Toronto and I desperately want to see the spectacular
Niagara Falls. If photos on Pinterest are to be believed, it looks even better
at night than it does during the day! I’d really like to visit Canada during
the autumn/winter months so that I can wrap up warm in my scarf and woolly
gloves and experience Canada’s natural wintery beauty. I’d be transfixed by the
beautiful lakes and glaciers, and I love the idea of travelling in a cable car
and experiencing a bird’s eye view of the stunning views. Luckily, I love views
and don’t mind heights! I also want to experience the juxtaposition of Canada’s
huge bustling cities in contrast to its tranquil views... would anyone like to
pay for me to go to Canada immediately, please?

I’ve always wanted to visit California ever
since being an avid reader of the Babysitters Club books and being a bit
obsessed with Dawn Schafer (she was from California). Does anyone else remember
this legendary and never ending series? I always think of California as being a
breathtakingly beautiful state with white sands and flawless blue seas along
its whole length... this probably isn’t totally true but it’s an extremely
idyllic place in my head. Probably so idyllic that the real thing might turn
out to be slightly disappointing! I’d love to visit Los Angeles, San Diego and
San Francisco, and California is also home to the original Disneyland which is
always a bonus. The long flight does put me off a little, but we could always
stop somewhere else in the USA for a short break on the way.